Inter Milan's new coach faces intense scrutiny and high expectations

FRISCO - Just as he shed the frustrations of his old job, he
assumed the enormous expectations attached to his new one. In
Texas, they might say Spanish coach Rafael Benitez is between a
rock and a hard place this summer after abandoning Liverpool and
resurfacing at Inter Milan. But this is the path he chose, and he
isn't asking for sympathy.

"There is a challenge for every man out here to have the
opportunity to train with a team like this that has won everything
in the last year," Benitez said. "So it is a challenge for me to do
the same this year or at least to try to reach for trophies."

As he hopscotches across the North American continent with his
new team and prepares for its match against F.C. Dallas tonight,
Benitez is familiarizing himself with his new players and learning
what it will take to match the achievements of his predecessor,
Jose Mourinho, who will be an incredibly tough act to follow. When
Mourinho skipped off to Real Madrid last May, Inter had just become
the sixth European club to win the treble - claiming the Italian
league title and the domestic cup, before prevailing in the
continent's premier competition, the UEFA Champions League.

"We know it will be difficult replicate a year like last
[season]," Inter Milan forward Diego Milito said in Spanish. "But
under Benítez, we will try. As with any head coach, he may
have his own system and a particular style, different from
Mourinho's. But we know he is a proven head coach who likes good
soccer."

Milito's faith is derived from Benitez's impressive track record
in a coaching career that has now spanned eight clubs, three
nations and 24 years. In Benitez's first major job, Valencia won
the Spanish La Liga title twice before securing the UEFA Cup in
2004. That year Benitez was hired at Liverpool, where he
experienced immediate success, steering the English team to the
2005 Champions League and 2006 FA Cup titles.

As Benitez emerged as one of the sport's best managers, he was
lauded for his tactical brilliance, cerebral approach and attention
to detail.

But Benitez also earned a reputation for his stubbornness and
insubordinate behavior. At Valencia, he clashed with the club's
executives when they didn't sign players he had recommended. During
his tenure at Liverpool, he became increasingly disgruntled after
Dallas-based investor Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. bought the
team in March 2007. The tension between ownership and Benitez
mounted when the club became saddled with debt and its pocketbook
narrowed. As Liverpool tumbled to seventh place in the Premier
League standings last season, its worst finish since 1999, Benitez
redirected the blame to the ownership that was unable to provide
the necessary funds to fortify and improve the roster.

He finally cut ties with Liverpool in June and later that month
was appointed at Inter Milan, where he signed a two-year deal and
his administrative responsibilities were reduced.

"Here the chairman and president have passion for the club,"
Benitez said. "He understands the game. It's totally different than
the situation that we had the last years in Liverpool…But I
don't think too much about the past."

Still, he's often confronted with it, when peppered with
questions about his former club or his predecessor at Inter Milan.
In fact, he's already dealing with the fallout from Mourinho's
decision to exclude Italian players from the last year's starting
lineup, a move that rankled fans who have been accustomed to seeing
their countrymen play the leading roles.

"We don't think about the passport, we don't think about the
nationality of a player," Benitez said. "We think about just who
could play for us. And that is the key. That is what the fans will
enjoy."

By now, Benitez knows all too well that it is the results that
matter. That's why he left Liverpool, a club that had meandered.
And that's why he came to Inter Milan, one that has boundless
potential. What Benitez has yet to discover, however, is whether
the absence of financial freedom at his previous job is more
burdensome than the overwhelming demands of his current one. One
way or another, he'll soon find out.

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